1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to climate control within a building, and, in particular, smart climate control within the building.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current worldwide growth in demand for energy is leading to a durable increase in energy usage and a rapid depletion of existing fossil fuels to supply the required energy. Many of today's energy users are in search of ways to utilize energy more efficiently and limit their overall energy consumption. In some cases, energy users may employ distributed generators (DGs) for harvesting power from renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro, or the like, in order to offset their usage of energy derived from fossil fuels.
For many energy users, climate control within residential and commercial buildings, i.e., heating, air conditioning, humidity control, and the like, represents one of the largest areas of energy consumption. Given that many buildings are unoccupied over extended periods of time, such as during daytime hours when homeowners are away from their homes or evening hours when workers are away from their businesses, appropriately managing the climate within a building during such times provides an opportunity to reduce energy consumption.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for efficiently controlling a climate within a building.